Bob Dylan Movies
Singer/songwriter Bob Dylan fortunately does not have to rely on his movie career to uphold his reputation as the single most influential rock musician of the 1960s. His best-known movie appearances include the concert film The Last Waltz and documentaries like Don't Look Back; but Dylan also appeared in other films, making his dramatic debut as a cowpoke named Alias in Sam Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), in which he sings "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Dylan went back to singing and composing until 1977's Renaldo and Clara, a four-hour-long largely improvised -- and universally panned -- production which Dylan himself wrote, directed, and starred in. It would be ten years before Dylan would once more flex his acting muscles in the long-on-the-shelf Hearts of Fire (1987), playing the tailor-made role of a retired rock legend. And though his roles leading into the new millennium consisted mainly of appearances in which he was billed as "Himself," Dylan's song "Things Have Changed" for the film The Wonder Boys (2000) brought the popular singer/songwriter his first Oscar for Best Music (Song). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1970
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Little Fauss (Michael J. Pollard) and Halsy Knox (Robert Redford) are competing motorcycle racers who form an unusual partnership. The pompous and arrogant Halsy agrees to race under Fauss' name while Fauss serves as his mechanic. Rita (Lauren Hutton) is the rich girl recovering from drugs who catches the eyes of both men. She chooses Halsy and eventually has a child by him after he halts his sexual pit stops with the racetrack floozies. Later, Rita bails out and returns to the sheltered environment of her wealthy parents in elite Palm Springs. Little Fauss and Big Halsy pair off in a race for a big prize. All events are witnessed by the lecherous photographer (Ray Ballard). An excellent musical soundtrack has Johnny Cash singing his own songs, one written by Bob Dylan, and another by Carl Perkins, who also sings one of his self-penned tunes. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, Michael J. Pollard, (more)
Tossing wristwatches away, two bikers hit the road to find America in Dennis Hopper's anti-establishment classic. After a major cocaine sale to an L.A. connection (Phil Spector), free-wheeling potheads Billy (Hopper) and Wyatt, aka Captain America (Peter Fonda, who also produced), motor eastward to party at Mardi Gras before "retiring" to Florida with the riches concealed in Wyatt's stars-and-stripes gas tank. As they ride through the Southwest, they take a hitchhiker (Luke Askew) to a struggling hippie commune before they get thrown in a small-town jail for "parading without a permit." Their cellmate, drunken ACLU lawyer George Hanson (Jack Nicholson, replacing Rip Torn), does them a "groovy" favor by getting them out of jail and then decides to join them. Babbling about Venusians, George discovers the joys of smoking grass, but an encounter with Southern rednecks soon proves how right he is about the danger posed by Billy's and Wyatt's unfettered life in a country that has lost its ideals. With the straight world closing in, Wyatt and Billy try to revel in New Orleans with some LSD and hookers (Karen Black and Toni Basil), but the acid trip is shot through with morbidity. Once they reach Florida, Billy raves about attaining the American dream; Wyatt, however, knows the truth: "We blew it."
Produced and directed by two Hollywood iconoclasts with under a half-million non-studio dollars, Easy Rider shook up the languishing movie industry when it grossed over 19 million dollars in 1969; it captured the spirit of the times as it woke Hollywood up to the power of young audiences and socially relevant movies, along with such other landmarks of the late '60s as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, and 2001. Shot on location by Laszlo Kovacs, Easy Rider eschewed old-fashioned Hollywood polish for documentary-style immediacy, and it enhanced its casual feel with improvised dialogue and realistically "stoned" acting. With a soundtrack of contemporary rock songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Band, and Steppenwolf to complete the atmosphere, Easy Rider was hailed for capturing the increasingly violent Vietnam-era split between the counterculture and the repressive Establishment. Experiencing the "shock of recognition," youth audiences embraced Easy Rider's vision of both the attractions and the limits of dropping out, proving that audience's box-office power and turning Nicholson into a movie star. The momentarily hip Academy nominated Nicholson for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern for their screenplay. Though none of its imitators would match its impact, Easy Rider remains one of the seminal works of late '60s Hollywood both for its trailblazing legacy and its sharply perceptive portrait of its chaotic times. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Produced and directed by two Hollywood iconoclasts with under a half-million non-studio dollars, Easy Rider shook up the languishing movie industry when it grossed over 19 million dollars in 1969; it captured the spirit of the times as it woke Hollywood up to the power of young audiences and socially relevant movies, along with such other landmarks of the late '60s as Bonnie and Clyde, The Graduate, and 2001. Shot on location by Laszlo Kovacs, Easy Rider eschewed old-fashioned Hollywood polish for documentary-style immediacy, and it enhanced its casual feel with improvised dialogue and realistically "stoned" acting. With a soundtrack of contemporary rock songs by Jimi Hendrix, the Band, and Steppenwolf to complete the atmosphere, Easy Rider was hailed for capturing the increasingly violent Vietnam-era split between the counterculture and the repressive Establishment. Experiencing the "shock of recognition," youth audiences embraced Easy Rider's vision of both the attractions and the limits of dropping out, proving that audience's box-office power and turning Nicholson into a movie star. The momentarily hip Academy nominated Nicholson for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and Fonda, Hopper, and Terry Southern for their screenplay. Though none of its imitators would match its impact, Easy Rider remains one of the seminal works of late '60s Hollywood both for its trailblazing legacy and its sharply perceptive portrait of its chaotic times. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, (more)
In 1965, filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker accompanied Bob Dylan to England to make a film about the singer/songwriter's British tour. At the time, no one could have known how fortuitous Pennebaker's timing would prove to be. Within a few months of this tour, Dylan would forsake his role as The Conscience of Folk Music to pick up a Fender Stratocaster and play rock and roll. Within a year, Dylan would suffer a motorcycle accident that would put him out of commission for nearly 18 months. Recording several brilliant solo performances and capturing a wealth of fly-on-the-wall footage of Dylan's interactions with friends and strangers, Pennebaker caught Dylan on the cusp of a radical career change, and the man in this film seems to be thrashing about in his shackles, looking for some sort of escape route. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Dylan
Country music and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs offers a memorable concert that finds him performing alongside such music superstars as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, The Byrds, and the Morris Brothers in this release of a stage show featuring such hits as "Nine Pound Hammer", "The Last Thing on my Mind", "The Streamlined Cannonball", and "Salty Dog Blues". An additional compact disc allows fans to take the music with them anywhere they please. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
